Memory Lane
by Kayka-chan
Summary: After an accident involving Chloe, Derek leaves. Chloe doesn't take too kindly to this and looks for him, amid a struggle against her memories and outside forces.
1. Memories of Dreams

**Hi, I'm back!**

**Alright, a few things to say before the story;**

**This is a very angsty story for the first few chapters. If you don't like angst, don't read this. Also, I'm aware that Chloe is very emo-ish in the first couple of chapters, but I think that it's perfectly in character for her and you'll see why when you read. Lastly, The poem that I'm using at the begining of all the chapters is Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town by E.E. Cummings.**

**That's all! Enjoy my new story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Darkest Powers, yet, but one day, I tell ya...**

~~XX~~

Memory Lane

_Memories of Dreams_

~~XX~~

Anyone lived in a pretty how town  
(with up so floating many bells down)  
spring summer autumn winter  
he sang his didn't he danced his did

~~XX~~

_She was dreaming again._

_She knew that she was dreaming, yet for some reason, that didn't stop how real it felt._

_She was running. Running as fast as she could through the woods. Her breath puffed out in a panicked cadence and her legs shook from the strain of her speed, but she couldn't stop. She knew that if she stopped, she wouldn't be the only one to die; her loved ones would, too. She couldn't fight this; she was way out of her league._

_Her eyes darted fearfully to the side, spying a break in the dense undergrowth. She dove for it, moving as quickly as she could. Behind her, she could hear the tell-tale grunting and snarls of the fight, but she didn't dare look back. She didn't want to. It would cost her valuable energy and time._

_A sudden and unexpected noise alerted her, and she turned around and everything began to move in slow motion. Her hair whipped past her face, partially obscuring the shape that made the noise until it was too late. The image of a very large, very angry wolf bared down on her, its large fangs shiny white and dripping with saliva._

_Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth._

_She screamed._

~~XX~~

Chloe bolted up in bed, a shriek still playing on her lips, dying before she let it fully escape. She shuddered and ran a shaking hand through her hair, closing her eyes and scrunching her eyebrows as she began to regulate her breathing.

Her heart thudded loudly in her ears and she had the nagging urge to start to cry; the prickling in her eyes and the throbbing in her throat. She turned her head over to the side and looked at the pillow next to her, looking for him, forgetting he wasn't there.

He hadn't been there for a while.

She gently ran her hand over the residual divot in the pillow where he laid his head so many times, hoping for some form of warmth or memory. She received none; the plush held its treasures too strongly. The urge to cry became even more incessant and she bit her lip as she bent down and laid her head next to the pillow.

Her hand gripped it in a claw-like vice and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Derek," she whispered aloud, wishing that he would hear it and come back. He didn't and she inhaled his smell before she heaved herself up into a sitting position and ran a hand through her hair again. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up.

She walked to look out of the front window, just to look. No particular reason. Though, perhaps, in her subconscious, she had wished that he would be standing there waiting for her to look out and see him. Only the sight of the moon shimmering off of the dew greeted her.

Chloe sighed as she turned around and moved back to the bedroom. She bent down to pick up her jeans, which she had taken off before she had crawled into bed, and slipped them on. She buttoned and zipped them as she walked towards the door. Then she began her ritual.

All it really consisted of was dusting. After all, no one ever really lived here anymore. The only thing that she had to clean up was the dust. Though, in the fall, she raked leaves, and, in the winter, she shoveled snow. Also, she brought in the paper and the mail to bring back to Tori's with her.

She tried not to look at the pictures that she ran her duster over, but she couldn't help it. The wedding photos, the vacation pictures, those mandatory fancy ones that had them all dressed up and posed. She smiled when she got to them, remembering how much Derek grumbled about them.

She let herself remember as she picked up one, the duster hanging limply at her side. It was the one when they went to the ocean in Florida.

In the picture, silhouetted across the dusk, Chloe was wearing the only sun dress that she owned, and Derek was dressed as he usually was; only his sleeves were shorter. He was picking her up from behind around the waist and spinning her in a circle as her hands gripped the arms circling her stomach.

Chloe's face showed her delight. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth was open as she laughed to the sky. Her hat was in the process of flying off into the ocean. You could glimpse Derek's face, and it showed him smiling. Behind them, in the wet sand, you could see wild footprints that showed the story of their chase before he caught her.

Simon had been the one _trying_ to take the picture. Though, he was laughing too hard to hold the camera steady so Tori had to snatch it from him and capture the moment. It was their last night in Florida and Simon had demanded that they party on the beach. By party he meant consume alcohol and act like they were teenagers again.

Chloe and Derek, being the deprived people they were, had neither of them ever acted like a good and proper teenager. Simon had spread his wisdom and plied them with enough alcohol to finally let them let their guards down. The chase that resulted in this picture was their long overdue game of boyfriend/girlfriend tag.

What the photograph didn't show was the sizzling kiss that came after it that had her booze-fogged brain spinning in anticipated circles. Tori had called a stop to that and her remedy was to have Derek wade out into the chilly water to fetch Chloe's hat. It had worked pretty well until they had gotten back to their hotel room and he had reignited the kiss.

Chloe swallowed and the reminiscent smile on her face faded as she swore she could hear her own shrieking laughter coupled with his low chuckles echoing through the empty house quietly. She quickly replaced the photo and moved onto the lamps.

Her eyes darted, unbidden, to the small, circular photo next to the lamp she was dusting. It was the only one in the house that had a picture of her and Derek as a wolf. Chloe was kneeling next to his huge form, her arms around his neck as she grinned at the camera. Derek sat up and had his tongue lolling out in his own wolfy smile.

Chloe closed her eyes and looked away, swallowing laboriously and gripping her chest against the pain in her heart. She licked her suddenly dry lips and finished her job, going through the motions like a robot. Then she was done.

Her feet padded on the wood floor as she made her way through their small house. She stopped in the kitchen to get a quick glass of water—which she swished around in her mouth before spitting out into the sink—before she walked around to the spare bedroom.

She leaned her hand against the door frame, unable, even after all of these years, to step into it. It looked the same as it always had. A bright, yet soft, yellow adorning the walls and random stuffed animals strewn about. Still, to this day, it was waiting.

Tori had once asked Chloe why she did this, especially if it caused her this much pain, and Chloe didn't have an answer for that. Well, she had a hypothesis. She figured that if she came here, then it would remind her of what she had—or could have again, as long as she kept searching. This was her motivation and her punishment all wrapped up into one juicy and cheap deal.

They didn't appreciate how motivating the dreams and the memories were.

Chloe jumped in surprise as she was startled out of her reverie by the light tinking of the clock that seemed ten thousand times louder in the compressing and depressing silence. Three chimes. Three in the morning.

With this knowledge, Chloe suddenly felt very tired. She blinked against the weight in her eyelids, and rubbed at them as she turned to collect her keys, shoes, and coat. As she locked the door, she turned one last time to look at the place she and her husband owned, her resolve to come back again next week faltering for only a moment.

She straightened her back, turned around, and walked out of the door. Her shoes made slapping noises on the concrete and she walked into her car, stopping one last time to look at the house.

Their little house on Beachwood Avenue.

~~XX~~

"You're back." Tori stated, her voice hinting at shock as Chloe walked into the door to her apartment half an hour later. She smiled at her roommate.

"Yep. But," she started as Tori opened her mouth to say more, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. "I'm going to head back off to bed. Tired." She said, her smile turning brittle at the pity in Tori's eyes. She didn't need or want the pity. She had plenty of it for herself.

"Okay…" Tori's voice followed her out of the room and down the hall. Chloe walked into her 'room', which was really just the office with a mattress laid on the floor. She looked at it and slumped down onto it face first. She knew that she wasn't going to sleep but she could lie down.

As she lay there, she sort of just went off into a half-asleep-half-awake state, her eyes open and staring at the wall. She stayed that way until the sun poked its rays into her make-shift room. Then she blinked and pushed herself up onto her elbows. She checked the clock, wondering what time it was. The numbers flashed at her, informing her that it was seven thirty.

She rose from her laying position and grabbed onto Derek's shirt, to start out her morning as she always did. She clenched it in both of her hands, crossed her legs, and closed her eyes. She began to summon for him, gently and carefully.

She imagined her powers as hands, gently pulling and sifting, looking for him. The whole while she prayed that he wouldn't answer her call.

Since the day he had disappeared, Chloe had begun the habit of Summoning for him every morning, just to check and make sure that he hadn't died. And every morning since, he hadn't answered. She hoped that it would stay that way.

After Chloe was suitably sated that Derek's ghost wasn't going to come to her—thank God—she opened her eyes and sighed with relief before replacing his shirt and standing up to stretch out her tense legs. From outside her door, she could smell the coffee that Tori was brewing. Chloe found herself wondering if she had been up this whole time.

She shook her head, working the sleepiness out of it before she stood up, her knees cracking from being in that one position for too long. She stumbled her way to the door after tripping over the blankets on her bed, righting herself with the door knob. She breathed and tried to set herself to get ready to face the day. No more moping for today.

She wandered into the kitchen and saw Tori staring at the coffee pot, deep in thought. Chloe worked a small smile onto her face. In the past ten years since the Edison Group had been defeated, Tori had only seemed to become more beautiful. Tori's hair was still fashionably cut, though at the moment she had some crazy bed-head going, she was still tall, and still gorgeous, even without her make-up on.

Tori turned towards her as Chloe walked up to the counter separating the kitchen from the dining space. She smiled hesitantly and Chloe returned it.

"Good morning." Chloe offered, her eyes wandering around the kitchen, pretending not to notice the pile of dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned.

"Morning," Tori answered, moving to remove the coffee as it beeped its finished status at top volume. She poured herself some and blew on it gently before taking a dainty sip. She closed her eyes, moaned in her throat, and smiled. Chloe laughed at her.

"Caffeine junkie," Chloe teased. Tori opened her eyes, the contented smile still in place.

"Guilty as charged." She admitted, setting her mug on the counter and tapping it with her nails. They stood in silence. "So what's for breakfast?" Tori asked, sipping her coffee some more. Chloe gave her a look.

"Don't ask me! Remember what happened last time I tried to cook?" Tori snorted, nearly spilling her coffee. She set it on the counter and grinned at her friend.

"How could I forget? Simon nearly died of food poisoning." She descended into cackles at Chloe's indignant expression.

"It wasn't _that_ bad…" Chloe protested resolutely, knowing full well that it was, exactly, that bad.

"It wouldn't be as bad if Simon wasn't such an ignorant dolt." Tori snickered, "Every time you give him food, and every single time he eats it. You would think that he would have learned by now." Chloe rolled her eyes as she walked over to her shoes.

"So I'm a bad cook. Sue me." She grumbled, stuffing her feet into her shoes indignantly. Tori cocked an eyebrow at her. "Let's go. We'll go get some donuts or something." She looked around for her sweater and spied it flung over the back of the couch.

"That sounds like such a bad idea for my thighs, but my stomach can't stop growling…" Tori murmured as she poured her coffee into an insulated mug with a screw on top. She pulled on a silky Japanese-looking robe that went down to her waist. "Look at this," she grumbled at Chloe, "I'm so hungry, I don't care that I'm going out in public like this."

Chloe laughed as she walked out of the door.

"Hurry! Those donuts won't eat themselves." She called over her shoulder. She heard a smack and a creative cuss word before Tori limped her way out of the door and turned to lock it shut before she followed her roommate.

Chloe led the way to the elevator and pushed the first floor button. Tori hobbled her way in before leaning against the side of the wall, grimacing.

"You're so lucky I like donuts." She grumbled, rubbing her knee tenderly. Chloe shot a grin at her, avoiding looking at herself in the mirrors on the doors of the elevator because she knew how bad she probably looked. The elevator slowed and Chloe looked up curiously as it stopped on the third floor.

The doors dinged open and Tori shot up into a standing position, sipping her coffee nonchalantly. A scrawny and gangly man with large glasses took one look at them, blinked a bit, and then, at a simmering look from Tori, mumbled that he would take the next one.

When the doors slid shut again, Tori grumbled into her coffee, and Chloe bit her lips. However, when Tori mumbled, "Damn neighbors," just loud enough for Chloe to hear, the dam exploded. Chloe bent over at the waist laughing madly.

"Oh, my, God," Chloe choked through her snickers. "No wonder you never have anyone visiting you."

Chloe danced out of the way as Tori's leg flicked out to kick her.

"I always have people visiting me!"

"Probably out of fear."

Tori faltered before looking away and sipping her coffee. "Shut up…" She pouted.

Chloe laughed again.

~~XX~~

Tori watched her friend from across the table in the donut shop. She _seemed_ fine, but then again, she always did. Tori knew that Chloe liked to think that she was smart, and that Tori couldn't tell how much she hurt when she put on a happy face for the day.

She knew that it was just smart to go along with it, though. It was a painful thing for her to remember and Tori didn't want Chloe to have to go through that hellish ordeal again, even if only in memory. The one time she tried to confront her about it, she instantly regretted it.

Chloe made a habit of going back to her house and, even though Tori had no idea what she did there, she always came back exhausted, upset, and quiet. Tori had suggested—actually it was more of a command—that Chloe don't do that anymore. Chloe freaked out on her.

She yelled. Yelled, for goodness sake! Tori hadn't heard her voice raised like that since…that day. All her interfering did was make matters worse, so she just decided to stay out of that part of it. Behind Chloe's back, though, she did what she could.

She had friends in the supernatural community on the lookout for Derek. If they even thought that they saw someone that sort of looked like him, they were supposed to contact her. Drastic? Maybe, but they didn't see Chloe in the state she was in after he left.

"What're you thinking about so seriously?" Chloe asked around the donut in her mouth. Tori jerked in surprise and shrugged.

"Not much," she picked up her own donut. "Just zoning out." Chloe cocked an eyebrow but didn't press the matter.

"Alright…" the murmurs of the surrounding people out for breakfast filled the silence. Tori sipped her now lukewarm coffee and wrinkled her nose.

_Whatever. Better than no caffeine._

"So," Tori said, putting down her coffee and tapping her nails on it. Chloe jumped in surprise and looked up. "When do you get to know whether you get your movie gig-thing?" Chloe smiled nervously and shrugged.

"Whenever they feel like getting back to me, I guess." The door dinged as someone new walked in and Chloe's eyes roamed over towards it before flicking back to her.

"It can't be too long. You are awesome, after all." Tori responded with a sniff. She was happy for Chloe to be doing this. She had some real talent and, if they could see that—which any idiot could—then she would finally achieve her dream of being a big-time Hollywood director. Eventually. Probably. Hopefully.

"It's nice to know that someone else besides me thinks so." Chloe mumbled playfully. Tori snickered and waved her hand dismissively.

"You'll do fine."

_You always have._

~~XX~~

**So, this is chapter one. I promise you that it'll get better as the story goes on. I'll post the chapters as soon as they're done being Beta-d. (Which reminds me, special thanks to LiliaCupcake376 for being my beta for the story).**

**Review please!**


	2. Memories of Friendship

**Back!**

**Okay, just so everyone knows, I'm never going to update this thing this fast again. I'm just giving you more than one boring chapter to read. K? Also, there was a question that I realized I never really answer. Chloe and Tori are around twenty five years old while Simon and Derek are twenty-six.**

**Now, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Darkest Powers, I wouldn't need to write fanfiction as obsessively as I do now.**

~~XX~~

Memory Lane

_Memories of Friendship_

~~XX~~

Women and men (both little and small)  
cared for Anyone not at all  
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same  
sun moon stars rain

~~XX~~

_The wolf hit her at full speed, smashing into her. His teeth snapping into her hair as she ducked her head out of the way just in time. Both her and the wolf toppled backwards and she grit her teeth against the pain as she began to panic._

_This was bad. She couldn't fall. __**She couldn't fall**__!_

_Whether by dumb luck or by cruel fate, she toppled back into a sapling, which stopped the inevitable fall. Her head cracked back against a sharp twig on the small and flexible tree. It scraped at her neck and she felt her ankle twist wrong and break as she desperately tried to right herself and keep her balance._

_The wolf began to resume its attack. Chloe made an 'eep'-ing noise and she kicked and lashed out with her hands and feet, managing to get him off a little bit before he was back on her, trying to get at her neck. Behind her the sapling creaked. Chloe tried so hard to keep him off of her, knowing that she shouldn't call for Derek, he had his own opponent to deal with. But she needed him. She needed to get over her pride and call him._

"_Derek!" She screamed as she tried desperately to push the wolf off of her. She shoved her hands into his throat and dug her fingers into the fur, using all of her strength to keep him from biting her. It was futile, however. He was getting closer with every snap and buck of his head._

_With one click of his teeth, the warmth of his rancid breath on her face, she closed her eyes against the fear and pushed harder. _

_A vicious snarl. And an answering one._

_Then the weight was off of her. She opened her eyes to see Derek, his hand in the scruff of the wolf, yanking him off and throwing him across the clearing. The wolf smashed into a tree and tumbled to the ground, yelping._

_Derek turned to her, checking her over once quickly, before he was forced to turn his attention back to the wolf as it rose, shakily, then roared and charged. Derek waited before rushing forward to meet him in mid-leap and smash him into the ground. The fight raged on. Chloe watched, her adrenaline going completely nuts as she tried to think of something to do._

_She went to take a step forward and her ankle split in agonizing pain. She muffled a pained noise, so as not to distract Derek and heavily fell back against the small tree supporting her weight. Then an even more disturbing and frightening sound had her eyes widening again and her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach._

_A crack._

_The sapling behind her broke and she tumbled down the very same embankment that she had tried so desperately not to._

"_No!"_

~~XX~~

"No!" Chloe bolted up, her panic still dancing in her veins. She looked around and noticed that she had fallen asleep at her desk. In Tori's apartment.

That was weird. That was very, very odd. She never had dreams like that when she was over here. They always only happened when she was spending the night at her own house. Could that mean something? Chloe's heart nearly stopped. She rushed to the window and looked up and down the street.

When she couldn't even find someone that looked like him she closed her eyes painfully and backed away from it. Of course he wasn't there. He wouldn't come back like this. She walked back over and heavily slumped into the chair at her desk, rubbing her eyes.

"God, I'm so tired…" She mumbled outloud before pushing her hair back and away from her face. She heaved herself to her feet and wandered out into the living room, checking the clock. It was a little past one in the afternoon.

Another oddity. She rarely napped, even after spending the night at her house. She stood there, her head cocked as she contemplated this.

_Maybe I'm getting sick,_ she thought to herself as she scratched her hand and walked over to check the answering machine. The red light blinked up at her. She looked at the buttons, trying to figure out which one to select that let her see who called. Tori had 'upgraded' their old one, claiming that they must keep with the times.

Chloe thought that was all fine and dandy, but she had no idea how to work this stupid machine.

She spied herself a promising looking button and pressed it. The machine beeped loudly once before a computerized female voice came out announcing that she had one unheard message from a number that Chloe had never heard of before. Then it started to play. Chloe swore creatively as she tried desperately to find a way to turn it off before she heard something that Tori didn't want her to.

Then, she did.

"…_Yeah, and I saw a guy like you described. Big, _really _big, longish black hair, green eyes, real deep voice,"_

As soon as this popped out of the little speaker Chloe ceased her attempts to silence the machine and she froze before she moved herself closer so that she could hear better.

It couldn't be…

"…_He was buying tickets for a bus. Said that he was heading down to…Buffalo? That's what it sounded like, anyway. Or maybe it was some dinky town near Buffalo. Whatever. He's in New York State, whatever the case, and he's heading in your guy's direction—"_

Chloe felt like her brain had disconnected itself from her body. Derek was coming back. Well, not _back,_ back, but he was close. Closer than he had been in a year. She checked the time that this had been called and, when it told her that it had been left a couple of hours ago she seriously contemplated flying off to the bus stop to wait for him to get off. Then she would…

What?

She realized that, even after all this time of putting out a missing person's ad, looking for him herself, and asking people to contact her if they saw him, she didn't know what to do when she actually found him.

Apologize seemed like a really good thing to do. Then what? Would he stay? Leave? Ignore her completely?

Run?

_Oh, God, what if he ran?_

Chloe suddenly felt very nervous. Then she felt confused. The person who called; she had never been in contact with them before. Never heard their voice or seen that number. So who were they calling for?

Tori.

What was Tori doing looking for information on Derek? Chloe felt the confusion increase tenfold as she paced around the apartment, unable to hold herself still. She checked the clock again and wondered where Tori went.

_She's with her latest boyfriend_, Chloe reminded herself. Tori didn't ever tell her that she was leaving to be with her boyfriends, but Chloe knew. She could find the tell-tale signs. The eye-contact-avoidance and the muttered excuses as to where she was going or why she was leaving.

Chloe stopped her pacing and her troubled and painstakingly mixed up mind once again latched onto Derek. She once again found herself wondering if she tried hard enough. Sure, she did the usual thing that you do what you can't find a person, she even went to the cops, but what she really wanted to do was get out there herself and search the U.S. from East to West for him.

But she still had a life. She had to work, to live. She couldn't just _leave_; she didn't have anywhere to stay while she looked for him. No matter how much it hurt, or how inadequate it felt, she had to be satisfied for waiting for an answer or appearance.

And, now! Now she hears something about him!

Chloe shook her head, unable to straighten out her thoughts. "I'm so confused…" She whispered to herself as she slid her fingers into her hair and sat there. She didn't really know how long she sat there, because she was submerged in memories and thoughts and worries.

Her insecurities began to prey upon her poor heart the more she thought about it. Then her confusion did.

A sudden noise from the hallway startled her and she jerked her head up to automatically look at the clock. It blinked back at her, proclaiming; **4:30**. Chloe blinked and shook her head sharply, standing up and turning towards the door where the noise came from. Tori opened the door and sharply took the keys out of the key hole, grumbling about sticky locks, before she looked up and saw Chloe standing there.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously, putting her keys in her purse and shutting their door. "You scared me." Chloe didn't know how to start, but she knew she had to somewhere.

"Someone called for you," She began, choosing her words carefully. "They left a message." Tori looked over at the machine and then back at Chloe.

"The light's not blinking."

"That's because I already listened to it." Chloe said. Tori stiffened, and suddenly grew weary, almost as if she knew where the conversation was going. _Well, as long as she already knows…_ "Why didn't you tell me that you were looking for him?" she accused, unable to use his name at that moment. Tori flinched and sagged bodily to the ground.

"Because I didn't know how you were going to react." She answered tiredly. Chloe blinked and sighed heavily, running her hands through her hair again.

"You should have _told _me!" She moaned exasperatedly. "Of course you knew how I was going to react, I—"

"Did I?" Tori snapped, cutting Chloe off mid-sentence. "You had been up and down all year, your emotions are like a fucking rollercoaster. I had _no idea_ how you would react! For all I knew, you could have tried to kill me." Chloe scoffed.

"That's ridiculous. I would never try to kill you." She responded in an equally sharp voice. Tori scowled up at her.

"Are you sure about that, Chloe? Because I didn't want to risk it. I didn't want you to spiral back down into depression or whatever." She got quieter and her gaze softened into pity. "I didn't want to needlessly get your hopes up, either."

Chloe's retort caught in her throat and she took a step back in surprise. _She's right_, Chloe realized. _She was only hiding it because she cared about her friend_. Chloe turned sharply and faced her back to Tori.

"I'm sorry." Chloe mumbled, ashamed. Tori was silent. Then a sigh and a rustle announced her movement.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." She said, in an equally awkward voice. Chloe turned to look behind her. Tori stood a few feet away and was looking uncertain. Chloe licked her lips and rolled her shoulders.

"A guy spotted him." She told Tori. Tori's eyes widened. Chloe hastily corrected herself. "Well, he thinks that he did. He gave a description of him that was nearly identical, but, you know, he could be wrong." Chloe was just blabbering now, but she couldn't stop. "Though, how many people fitting his description are seen heading to a town near Buffalo?" That got Tori's attention.

"Buffalo? What's there?" She inquired curiously. Chloe shrugged, knowing full well what was there but refusing to relive that.

"Dunno." She lied. They were quiet for a bit before Tori made an irritated noise.

"Whatever. I'm going to give him a call and get more information from him. Do…whatever you were doing." Tori informed her as she pulled out her cell phone and walked down the hallway to her room where she shut the door.

Chloe fought the urge to rush up to the door and stick her ear against it like a juvenile. She did get a little closer though. It didn't help; Tori was speaking too quietly. After a few moments she came back out and looked at her roommate.

"He confirmed all of the questions I asked and I called the Bus Station and asked about him. They also confirmed the sighting." Tori told her. Chloe nodded as the numb feeling started to return again. Tori grumbled and scratched the back of her head.

"Well, what do we do now?" She asked. Chloe smiled ruefully.

"I was thinking the same thing." She sobered up. "We should call Simon."

~~XX~~

Simon chewed on the end of his pencil as he looked at the sketch he was working on. It was missing something. Just… _something_. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He sighed in frustration and laid his sketchpad over to the side as he stood up. He needed a break. He had been working for too long at a time. He'd come back later and then he would know what he needed to add to this to make it look good.

Hopefully his editor wouldn't kill him for not working.

So, he was a little behind schedule with his next book. So? He was getting it done, and that was the important part.

Simon moseyed his way into the kitchen and began to sift through the cabinets in an attempt to scrounge up something to eat. There had to be something in his kitchens; he just went shopping.

He opened the fridge and stooped at the waist. He smiled when he saw the jar of pickles and picked them out, setting them on the counter while he got his pack and checked his blood. He began to unconsciously open the jar while his monitor processed his blood. He leaned over to check the number when it beeped and he saw that he was a little low.

_Hm. That explains why I'm so hungry. And tired._ He thought to himself as he packed up his stuff and put it back where he got it. He replaced the pickles and began to find something with more carbohydrates to bring his blood sugar up.

He was taking the energy bars down from his pantry when he heard his phone buzz behind him. He sighed, thinking it was his Editor with her incessant calls for work. He ripped open a bar and stuffed it in his mouth as he walked over to his phone.

_It's like she has a radar or something_, he wondered as he leaned over to check the caller-ID. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he recognized the caller as Tori.

He finished up his bar as he opened up his phone and hit the send button to call her back. She answered on the second ring and didn't even bother with pleasantries.

"Simon?" Her voice warbled out of his speaker. "You need to get over here. Now." Simon swallowed the last of his bar and felt worry gnawing at his gut.

"Is it Chloe?" He asked as he began to briskly walk towards the door, pulling on his jacket and grabbing his keys on the way.

"No." There was something in her tone that gave it away. Simon knew this wasn't just a Chloe's-spiralled-down-into-depression-again-and-done-something-stupid. This was way different. Tori confirmed his suspicions with her next sentence;

"It's your brother."

~~XX~~

**So, yes, Cliffhanger, I am evil incarnate.**

**Review please!**


	3. Memories of Falling

**Wassap!**

**Sorry it took so long. I'm not really sure what happened to my beta. I held out for as long as I could, but I can't wait forever. So bear with me if there's errors. I did my best.**

**Enjoy!**

~~XX~~

Memory Lane

_Memories of Falling_

~~XX~~

Children guessed (but only a few  
and down they forgot as up they grew  
autumn winter spring summer)  
that Noone loved him more by more

~~XX~~

_She hit on her back first, which wasn't exactly surprising, seeing as she had fallen backwards, but for some reason that almost made her relieved. Then she rolled over and kept falling._

_It hurt. So very, very badly._

_It hurt her ankle, it hurt her neck, it hurt her legs. The pain sung down deep into her bones and they crackled with the stress. When she finally came to rest at the foot of the hill, thankfully, she felt nothing too wrong._

_She gingerly went to push herself up onto all fours, and a ripping pain occurred in her abdomen. She shrieked, too distressed to even bother hiding it._

"_Chloe?" _

_She laboriously looked over and saw Derek at the top of the hill as he took in her sight, then he bolted down the embankment, running and sliding until he was right beside her. Chloe grit her teeth against another wail of pain and anguish as she balled herself around her bulging stomach._

"_Chloe!" Derek was obviously panicking. He had picked her up and was already dashing for the place they had left the car. "Chloe, what's wrong?" He picked up his speed, going as fast as he could. He stepped down hard once and she cried out in pain, kicking out convulsively with her leg. _

"_Did he bite you?" When her only answer was a whimper, his tone took on an even more urgent tone; "Chloe, answer me!"_

"_Derek," Chloe gasped as she began to cry, balling her hand into the shirt he had hastily thrown on. "The baby…"_

Simon sat silently as they told him about the most recent information on his Foster-brother. His mouth was set in a straight line and his eyes were steely. His posture was rigid also; with his arms crossed in front of his chest as his legs stretched out in a deceptively relaxed pose. The last notes of Tori's voice died out as her explanation came to its end. Simon didn't move.

Chloe shifted nervously. She knew that Simon didn't blame anyone except his brother for the disappearance, but Chloe still felt really guilty around him. Simon finally, after what seemed forever in Chloe's mind, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at her.

"What do you think about this?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. Chloe swallowed and looked away, absentmindedly bringing her hands up to rub at her arms. She bit her bottom lip and worried it between her teeth. She knew that Tori was waiting for her answer, too. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Confused," She answered truthfully, opening her eyes and looking at the two of them. "I mean, why would he be found_ now_? He's been so careful for us not to let us catch him, and he has plenty of other ways to get to Buffalo, so…_what_?" She threw her arms out in a helpless gesture. Simon nodded his understanding and Tori adopted a contemplative expression.

"That's a good point." Simon conceded and Tori nodded her own agreement. "But that wasn't the point of my question. The point was; what do you want to do about it?" Chloe shirked her gaze away from them and down to the floor.

What did she want to do?

She wanted to get to Buffalo and find him. She wanted to see him and to hug him and to feel safe again and make him _swear_ that he'll never leave her again. She wanted to apologize and let him see how sorry she was for everything.

But, the better question would be; what _could_ she do?

"I…I think that we should go check it out." She admitted reluctantly. The two waited patiently for her to elaborate. "I-I mean, we have a lead that's real close to where we are now, and one that's fairly supported by a substantial amount of evidence that enforces his being here." She chewed on her lip again for a second as they mulled it over.

Tori shrugged and cocked an eyebrow. "I'm all for catching Wolf-boy." She said, smiling at Chloe who smiled gratefully in return. They both looked at Simon who was looking at the ceiling and, obviously, deep in thought.

"We should…go and see this. I'm not saying that he's actually there, because if I know Derek, he's anything but stupid," He grinned humbly. "But, I agree that there could be a chance." Chloe felt dizzy with relief and smiled hesitantly. Tori startled them both by clapping her hands together loudly.

"Alright, so…" She grinned at them. "When are we leaving?"

Chloe hung up the phone and sighed. She hadn't really had to say too much to let her boss give her a few days off. She was real consistent with her job and, aside for a couple of weeks last year, she hadn't missed any work.

She hadn't really told her boss what was going on, but she had sort of figured it out anyway. Not the fact that Derek was missing but that something had happened. She had once asked Chloe about it, but the reaction that Chloe had given—hyperventilating herself into a fainting spell—had warned off any other questions about it.

She sighed again and felt a little nervous as to what she felt that she had to do. She reached over and grabbed her coat as she left the apartment. She headed down to the car and drove herself back to her house. For the second time that week.

When she got there she stood at the door and tried to settle her breathing and heart rate. She raised a shaky hand and opened the door. It swung open and she stepped inside quickly before she changed her mind.

She stood in her doorway awkwardly and shuddered before she shucked off her coat and kicked off her shoes. She walked into her bedroom again and opened the nightstand. In the drawer, the ring's case stared back at her and she took it out and opened it, looking at the ring inside. She licked her lips and carefully removed the jewelry before slipping it onto her ring finger.

She sorta watched it, almost as if she expected it to jump off her finger and run away. Then she slowly lowered her hand back to her side and smiled hesitantly.

It felt good to have her wedding ring back on.

She hadn't worn it because, earlier in his disappearance, the mere thought of him would send her into some sort of fit. So she had removed the ring from sight and from mind. She had, eventually, after she had gotten better, thought about going to get it again and then found herself far too frightened by the idea of getting bad again to actually go through with it.

But now that Derek was—could be—close, she felt that she could finally get over herself and put it back on.

And, boy, did it feel _good_.

In fact, at that moment, she felt like she could do anything. She smiled at her newfound bravery and walked back into her living room, with all the pictures. She walked around and looked at all of them, allowing herself to remember every single one of them. Even the ones that didn't really have a story behind them.

She even dug out the videos. She watched the birthdays, the parties, the wedding shower, the wedding ceremony itself, the reception. She teared-up at a few of them, but she didn't cry. She saw the one video that she knew had recorded the baby shower and decided that she wasn't ready for that particular trip down memory lane. Not yet.

She was watching one of the videos of the picnic that they went on for Aunt Lauren's birthday, laughing at the shenanigans that they were getting into, when a voice spoke next to her;

"Looks like fun."

Chloe nodded with an absentminded smile on her face, not really thinking anything of it.

"Yes. It was. Aunt Lauren didn't want a party so we pretended that we were just going to go on a picnic for her and surprised her with presents and cake." Chloe grinned. "She was so embarrassed." Then suddenly, as the man chuckled, Chloe became aware of the stranger.

She stifled a scream and jumped out of the seat, placing the furniture between her and him. He was leaning against the wall, nonchalantly, and looking at her with a cocked eyebrow. His hair was shaggy to his ears, and he was on the shorter side, though more stocky with muscle than anything.

He was also familiar.

"You," Chloe hissed at him, angrily, digging her nails into the cloth of her chair. "How dare you…" She spat at him. He chuckled some more.

"Now, really," He said, walking through the chair. Chloe backed up so that his ghost didn't go through her. "Is that any way to greet me?"

"I suppose not," Chloe said, pulling up her mental force. "But this is." She began to shove him angrily with her mind. His form wavered and his face became frantic.

"Wait!"

"No." Chloe answered his desperate plea. She didn't want to hear anything he had to say. Not one word was worth listening to.

"They're coming back!" He hollered, his face showing his strain at staying in this dimension. Chloe stopped pushing on him but made no move to help his form back. Her brows furrowed in confusion at his statement.

"They?" She questioned, more to herself than anything, but he nodded and laboriously pulled his form back in.

"The people who sent us." He waited and when Chloe still didn't look comprehending, he continued. "The reason we tried to take you."

Chloe's anger flared up again at the mention of that. She was so angry that her vision momentarily flashed white before she caught herself and took a few calming breaths. _He could have useful information,_ she kept reminding herself, like a mantra, in her mind.

"Why?" She asked, after she had calmed herself down. He gave her a curious look. Chloe rubbed her temples with her fingers and snapped, exasperatedly; "Why are they here _now_?"

He smirked at her and shrugged. "Dunno. They just are. It's not like they can tell me since, y'know, your husband killed me." He gave her a pointed look and Chloe ignored it. She pushed one.

"So, why are you telling me then? Wouldn't it just be better for you if I didn't know and they got me anyway?" Chloe mumbled, flicking some of her hair out of her face and folding her arms in front of her. He looked at her knowingly and cocked an eyebrow.

"You? I never said it was you they wanted."

Chloe's eyes widened and her irritation evolved into understanding. She cast her eyes down as she thought about it.

"You mean they're—" She stopped herself when she realized that she was alone again. She stood there for a few seconds, then ran from her house, leapt into her car, and tore down the streets back to Tori's. She lurched up the stairs when she saw the crowd trying to get into the elevator and ran until she was standing in front of Tori's door. Then she threw it open and stumbled in.

Simon and Tori looked at her with shock and uncertainty, standing upon her entrance, with Simon hastily hanging up his phone and walking towards her. Chloe waved him away and gasped, trying to catch her breath. When she finally did, she stood up and fixed them with a desperate stare.

"Derek's in danger."

Kit looked at his phone for a few seconds after his son had hurriedly hung up.

They had found out something about Derek. It was a good solid lead, too.

Kit felt a relieved laugh escape from his lips. It was short and more of a bark than anything else, but he had to do something. Had to release the relief that he had felt building up inside of him since Simon had finally spit out that they might have found Derek.

He wondered how Chloe was taking it.

He knew that she blamed herself for this, even though no one else did. He knew what had transpired between the couple, but he couldn't really see how that could have convinced Derek anymore than anything else. He wouldn't have left if he wasn't already thinking about it.

So he found it completely absurd that Chloe blamed herself, but he felt sorry for her. He hadn't seen her that much in the past year, but, from the one glance he had gotten, she hadn't been taking it well.

_She must be so happy at this news_, Kit decided, _perhaps, now, they can all find some peace._

~~XX~~

**Liek? I did my best.**

**Review please!**


	4. Memories of Pain

**Hola, bishes!**

**Yes, it took me a while. I am truly sorry and I hope this makes up for it!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Memory Lane

_Memories of Pain_

~~XX~~

When by now and tree by leaf  
she laughed his joy she cried his grief  
bird by snow and stir by still  
Anyone's any was all to her

~~XX~~

_The next few hours flashed in and out of her mind._

_She knew that they were in a hospital, and that they were talking but she could barely make out a few words. She got enough to know that nothing was going right._

"…_baby's heart rate is low…"_

"_She's going into premature labor!"_

"_We have to stop it…"_

"…_Get an __obstetrician, now! Tell them…"_

_Then, for a while, it was quiet as she was put into a drug induced sleep. Then, after an unknown amount of time, she opened her eyes and looked up at the blaring light of the hospital. She heard one conversation that would haunt her for the rest of her life._

"_Is he…?"_

"_He's dead."_

_After she heard that, she might have screamed. She might have cried. She doesn't remember._

_She was just… empty._

~~X~~

Simon paced.

Chloe watched him.

Tori was staring out her window.

Chloe watched her, too.

"Why should we trust him?" Simon demanded suddenly, whirling around and fixing Chloe with his gaze. Chloe jumped at the speed of his movements and the sudden volume of his voice in the previously silent room. She blinked and placed a hand over her thumping heart, looking at Simon as he continued. "I mean, he was one of the people who attacked you guys, what would he gain by helping you? Nothing, that I can think of. I don't trust this. Or him."

"Me either." Tori chimed from her place at the window. Chloe licked her lips and nodded, acknowledging both of their disagreements.

"I don't either, but it's got to have something to do with the reason he came back." She said. Simon and Tori both made faces.

"Why would he come back if he knew that someone was trying to hurt him?" Simon inquired slowly, as if he was worried that he was offending her intelligence. Chloe chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"Maybe they didn't just out right say; 'Hey, come to the dark alleyway tomorrow. Alone.' Maybe they sort of, I don't know, tricked him. Used one of us to get him to come here. Pretended that they had one of us in custody or something." She was just taking random stabs in the dark, but she had to come up with some reason.

Any reason.

"Maybe they sent something to him pretending to be one of us." Chloe tried again. Tori made a noise.

"But, Derek's not an idiot," Tori pointed out again, shifting so that she could look over at the other two. "He would be able to smell who's handled the paper and know if it really was one of us or not."

"Maybe it wasn't a paper letter," Chloe pressed on. Simon nodded.

"Maybe they sent an e-mail." He agreed. Tori shook her head.

"Still, why would he accept mail or be anywhere near a computer? I thought he was in hiding." She pointed out. Chloe tapped her finger on her leg.

"Only from us. And the people who know us." She clarified. "Just because we can't find him doesn't mean that he's disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"Yet."

Chloe jumped and turned towards the same ghost of one of their attackers that had been bothering her at her house. She fixed him with a glare and he cocked his eyebrow at her.

"If you're just here to give and/or make ominous threats in my ear than go away. Or I'll _make_ you go away." Chloe warned. He chuckled.

"Of course not. That would just make you angry." He pretended to pout. "And we don't want that, do we?"

"More you than me." Chloe corrected, rolling her eyes at her audience who had, after a few confused looks around, figured out that she was talking to a ghost. "What do you want?" She demanded after a frustrated sigh.

"Well, I have more information for you."He said, puffing up his chest like he thought he was _so_ important. Chloe scowled at him.

"I'm sure you do." She said, her voice laden with sarcasm. He frowned at her tone of voice.

"I don't think that I like your tone." He told her. Chloe whirled on him angrily.

"And _I_ don't trust you!" She snapped, her volume rising slightly. She sighed and calmed herself as Simon stepped forward, scowling in the general direction where Chloe was looking.

"Is he giving you trouble?" He asked. Chloe looked at him, suddenly very tired.

"They all do. It's nothing I can't handle." She assured him. Simon nodded and stepped back again, glancing at Tori who shrugged helplessly.

"I never asked you to trust me." He told her, his tone sounding almost hurt. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"No. You just hoped that I would be stupid and naïve enough to just blindly skip off after every clue you drop at me." She said with faux optimism. She dropped her façade and scowled again. "While you probably got a good giggle out of it the first few times, I'm done listening to your 'Leads'"—she made finger quotes around the word—"and I'm going to follow my own. Go away."

He made a disgusted face at the fingers she flicked in his direction and turned towards the door. He stopped before he walked through it and turned to her.

"I'm not coming back. Not even if you beg me." He warned her. Chloe smiled.

"I won't. I assure you." She told him waving her hand at him again, motioning for him to go away. He gave her an ugly look and then stepped through the door. She grit her teeth against the feeling that she had just made a big mistake and turned to Simon and Tori. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Simon said, brushing away her apology. She gave him a soft smile and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Now what?" Tori asked, repeating her question from earlier. Chloe looked to her.

"Now we decide what to do." She clarified. "Are we going to go to the Bus Station and wait for him or do we just brush it off as another rumor and ignore it?" After she gave them their options she leaned back on her heels and chewed on her lips in anticipation.

"I say we go to the station and wait for him." Tori said, breaking the silence and giving Chloe a smile. Chloe smiled back and the two of them turned to Simon.

"Guys," He said, hesitantly. "I really want to believe that this is Derek but… I'm not sure." Chloe felt her heart sink at his words. Simon didn't want to go. Tori snorted.

"Really? You're not going to go look for your brother because you think that it's just a rumor?" Tori asked scornfully. Simon frowned in confusion before his face broke and he shot Chloe a smile.

"I don't remember saying that I didn't want to go." Simon corrected. Chloe smiled back at him and Tori was taken aback before she recovered and grinned also. Simon sobered. "But, I was trying to say, that we shouldn't get our hopes up too high. We don't even know what he will do if he sees us."

From the tone of his voice, Chloe can tell he's wondering the same things that she was. Tori shrugged and started walking towards the door.

"Who knows," She threw over her shoulder as she pulled her coat on. "One way to find out, though. And it does take a little while to get to Buffalo. Don't want to miss him, now, do we?" Chloe nodded and moved to pull her coat on too, while Simon moaned behind her.

"That would really suck." He informed them.

Chloe agreed wholeheartedly.

~~XX~~

"_Oh_, my God." Tori grumbled, thudding her head back against the wall impatiently. Simon looked over irritatedly and Chloe felt like she wanted to echo the sentiment, but she could hardly make herself move.

As soon as they had gotten to the Bus Station, the acknowledgment of what was going to happen hit Chloe like a slap in the face. Her throat got all constricted and dry and her heart sped up and her hands got all clammy. And they hadn't stopped. She had been on edge for the whole fifteen minutes they had been here.

Though, it did seem like way longer than that.

"Is it impossible for you to just sit there patiently and wait?" Simon snapped at Tori, though he was obviously impatient, too. He kept fidgeting around and flicking his eyes towards the doors.

"Well, yes, it is." Tori responded. "But I can only do it for so long, you know. Not everyones as good at meditation as you are, Confucius." Simon cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at her.

"Tori," He said, as she met his stare full on. "Did you just make a racist comment?" Tori rolled her eyes.

"Really, Simon?" She said, before she started to smile. "If you had to ask, it obviously wasn't a very good one." Simon returned the smile, realizing that she didn't mean to be cruel with her jab and that it was just meant to lighten the mood.

"You're lucky that I'm not sensitive." Simon sniffed. Tori scoffed and Simon smiled.

"Of course you're not sensitive. And I'm not a woman."

"I knew it." Simon claimed, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "There is no way that a woman acts like you and gets away with it."

Tori rolled her eyes and went to continue the banter when a person came on over the system and announced that a bus had come in. Everyone, in their group, got deathly quiet and turned towards the door in anticipation. Chloe's throat felt tighter, if possible.

Then people began to come in.

They were all carrying their luggage and looking tired, like most people who have been travelling do, smiling when their family came to greet them. Passenger after passenger filed out and Chloe sat perched on the edge of her chair, ready to leap up on a moment's notice, if necessary.

Her fingers absentmindedly found her wedding band and began to fiddle with it, twisting it around on her finger as she sought something to distract her from the torture of unknowing.

Finally, the people stopped coming in.

Chloe swallowed and waited, clinging onto the hope that maybe he was just lagging behind because he didn't like people that much. But no. He didn't come in.

Chloe felt tears prick at the back of her eyes and her throat no longer felt tight, just constricted. She breathed shakily and cast her eyes down. Her eyes caught on the same wedding ring she had been fiddling with and now just sat on her finger. She felt her hope starting to fade.

"Maybe he just…left something on the bus." Simon hurriedly said, noticing Chloe's reaction. Tori nodded emphatically. Chloe shook her head sadly.

"No. He's not here." Her voice gave away her tears and she flinched at how pathetic she sounded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Simon reach for her hand. She jerked it out of the way and shot to her feet. "I'm going to go for a walk. Stay here in case he's on a later bus." She said, though she didn't believe that he really was.

She left without waiting for them to agree or disagree.

Outside the station's doors, Chloe stood in the night and stared at the parking lot. The wind drifted through the trees, causing the leaves to rustle. She impatiently brushed her hair out of her face.

She knew the spot. It wasn't that far away. Probably only a twenty minute walk. She needed the fresh air anyway.

So she started walking.

She reached the spot exactly where she remembered it to be. She knelt down at the bottom of the hill where she remembered falling and stared at the leaf covered floor of the woods. All around her the night gave off sounds, some more creepy than others. She ignored them. She looked up and saw a hole in the canopy of trees that gave her a good shot of the night sky.

She sighed and lay on her back, looking up at the moon. She swallowed again and felt one tear run down her face before she angrily wiped it away.

"No." She rasped, scolding herself. "Crying won't get you anything. It won't help you. Don't." She rolled over so that she was curled onto her side facing the hill. She looked up at it and clenched her jaw against the urge to cry some more. She closed her eyes and covered her face.

A crack echoed through the forest and Chloe sat up quickly, muffling a noise of surprise. She looked around trying to pinpoint where it came from and saw a familiar figure at the top of the hill. She sighed. Of course Simon would follow her. He wouldn't let her be alone after—

The thought died in her mind as she got a better look.

"D-Derek?" She whispered through numb lips.

* * *

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